Reply With QuoteLovely city, check out the Ho and the Barbican.
Cant help with the questions asked except to say you MUST try an ivor dewdney Pasty. The very best of English fast food.
In the 3rd week of July the UK Laser Association holds its annual UK Laser Radial Sailing Open Championship in Plymouth. My lad and a few of his teammates want to participate. It's all very new - we (parents) have started discussing the UK Open only this evening.
Plymouth is totally new territory (or better: water) for us. That includes campings, homes for rent/B&B's. But also: restaurants, cycling routes for us when the lads are at sea, etc. We will try to arrive a few days early - for training purposes. I haven't checked Booking.com yet. This forum is my first port of call!
So please share everything you can about Plymouth. Do's, don'ts, ideas, nice things to see etc.
Thanks in advance,
Menno
Lovely city, check out the Ho and the Barbican.
Cant help with the questions asked except to say you MUST try an ivor dewdney Pasty. The very best of English fast food.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Cornwall street area for pasties!
Last edited by Bry1975; 5th May 2018 at 13:57.
Do go out to Dartmoor and climb a few tors. It’s a magical place imo.
Plymouth is a cool and interesting place to explore. There are a few nice bits.
I work there one day a week.
Dartmoor is very close by and worth a visit. Excellent place.
Have fun.
The blues bar is good for food, only been twice myself but likely to be working at DevonPort a lot over the summer
Cap'n Jasper's!
https://m.facebook.com/CapnJaspers/
I visit Plymouth quite often as I have two sisters who have lived there for many years.. Some parts of it are depressing with lots of roundabouts and dual carriage ways going through the city centre, my mate called it Croydon on Sea ! .. However it still has a lot going for it. Dartmoor is very close and is excellent for rambling (not done much of that myself) and cycling - which I have done loads of .. Make sure you have the correct gearing though as there are 15-20% hills everywhere, they only seem to sign some of the obvious ones. You can have a really tough day out cycling all over Dartmoor and Ashburton/Widdecombe way..
Another option for cycling is to take the Torpoint ferry (no charge for cyclists) over to Torpoint and explore Cornwall from there. An even quieter option is to take the Cremyll ferry - they do charge for a bike on this one though, over to Mount Edgecombe stately home. There is a great pub near to the Cremyll landing point that serves decent meals and has lovely views across the Sound towards Plymouth. From Cremyl you could visit Mt Edgecombe estate or head through the very quiet roads to Kingsand and Cawsand beaches and Rame Head. These are very unspoilt but have few facilities although there are plenty of shops in Kingsand. Again there are steep hills in and out of Kingsand.. Other nice beaches near Plymouth are Wembury and Bigbury, but you would need to drive there or see if any busses go there.. Probably only 10 miles out of Plymouth to get to them..
In Plymouth itself there are lots of restaurants to choose from, especially around the Barbican area where the yachts are moored. I'm no gourmet but I like Quay 33 in the Barbican and although they do plenty of fish I usually have a Sunday roast.. If you like British fish & chips check out 'Harbourside' in the Barbican, this is my favourite and seems to be very popular. The King William Yard is another nice place to eat & drink with a few good options there for you. This was a Navy site and has views out over the Sound.. Unfortunately my sister who could rattle off a string of food recommendations for you is away on the El Camino trail right now..
Just remembered the National Aquarium is there on the other side facing the Barbican so that is a good option if its raining..
If the weather is nice you will have a great time - its great just to sit on the Hoe and look out over the Sound..
ps - I agree on the pasty recommendation ; great cycling food and I love to sample the different pasties (from small/independant makers), when I'm out on the bike.. Ivor Dewdneys is still a firm favourite after sampling many others, though I like Malcolm Barnecutt when over in Cornwall itself..
Last edited by bry nylon; 8th May 2018 at 11:56.
Things are looking good! We're staying at the Churchwood Valley Cabins near Wembury. Since we're travelling with 3 sailors it's great that we managed to get three cabins on the premises. From there it's about 20mins to Mount Batten (according to Google). Not a fancy holiday centre, but it looks quiet and nice. The surrounding landscape is nice: the chalets are on hill-sides. Something we don't have over here... Near the sea, everything but the dunes is as flat as a pancake.
The UK Laser Association is very helpful and welcoming as well. I contacted their liaison officer Adrian and he was chuffed by the fact that 3 lads from the Continent are hopping over for the UK's Open. Entering the venue and paying for entering the event went like a dream. (Try to enter a regatta venue like this in Germany or Italy... In Germany, cash is still king!) We take an 80 hp RIB with us and the mooring-spot in the harbour is already marked for us! Adrian also provided us with a tidal stream chart of the Sound. That's something we desperately needed as well. Luckily, the tidal stream isn't that bad over on the east side of the bay. In all: perfect communication and we feel as welcome as can be!
Last hurdle is the choice: how to get there. Dunkirk, Calais or further down south: from Normandy in France straight to Plymouth. The last option is perhaps the longest, but I've heard bad things about the route from Dover/Folkestone heading West, under London to Plymouth. I wonder if the route along the French coast is a better (less crowded) option. I know it's a 6 hr ferry to Plymouth though.
Finally: motorway speed with a trailer. As far as I know is the rule 50 or 60 m/hr. Depending on: single or dual carriageway. Am I correct?
Menno
You've got it right, but have a read of:
- Speed limits
- Towing with a car
- Traffic Signs...for 'National speed limit applies'
...and come back with any further questions.
As for the journey, much will depend upon at what time you hit the pinch points and I don't really know enough to advise you. It'll be a long old journey either way, so take care and rest up when necessary.
Maybe you're wishing for a little more wind than is forecast?
Last edited by PickleB; 16th July 2018 at 19:11.
Thanks for reviving this thread!
Off to Bruges and Wednesday to Calais - Dover and beyond. Teammates have made the journey yesterday with a RIB behind the car. It took them a lot of time to arrive. But those 'quartermasters' have done the recce! First thing is dropping off the trailer and the boats in Plymouth and then to Webury. The narrow lanes are not suited for an SUV with a 5m long trailer!
Wind... well, the lads had their fair share in Warnemünde last week. According to the Belgian team, the waves were 3m high and the crew faced 30 - 35 kn wind...*) Tbh, it's like fishing: the fish you catch gets bigger with every time you tell the story! But true is true: Warnemünde was tough and was won by a very friendly Croatian lady. Hopefully, the lower wind speeds will help to set the course beyond the Breakwater, on the Ocean (or is it called 'Channel' there?)
Speed limits: more or less the same as in NL. Only on the M-way the UK speed limit is 10 kms higher than here! The rules about the weight of the car/trailer combination is also the same as here in Holland. My Honda CR-V is big and heavy enough for that.
I only have to remember "Stay on the left!" And overtaking on the right. I even packed a caravan mirror so that I can attach that on the RH side of the car, giving me more 'view' to to the rear. Given the road conditions (A303...) I don't think that overtaking will be possible, btw. I've considered going around the north, using the M-ways. But last week I did the same in Germany, taking the detour near Hannover. It took me 2 extra hours...
So... when you're near the A303 on Wednesday afternoon and you're wondering why the traffic jam is soooooo loooooong... well that's because we're heading to Plymouth in a white Honda CR-V.
Menno
*) Parents and coaches from western Europe have a friendly relationship and we help each other; we were in Warnemünde with a RIB and took care of two Belgian sailors. Currently, a Dutch girl is participating in Gdynia / Poland, for the Laser 4.7 World Championship and she is 'adopted' by Team GBR.
Last edited by thieuster; 16th July 2018 at 21:09.
Ready to rrrrrrrrumble. Leaving in a few minutes. This combination will be at the very spearhead of the traffic jam....
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